Optical position determination and identification system

ABSTRACT

An optical position determination and identification system is for environments having a multiplicity of identically constructed objects. The system includes: a mobile image acquisition unit; and texture elements that are configured to be applied onto the objects. Each of the texture elements has a pattern that respectively comprises pseudorandom deviations from a predetermined basic pattern, which are not visible with the naked eye at a distance of 1 m. The image acquisition unit is configured to identify the texture elements uniquely with the aid of their pseudorandom deviations.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2019/083653, filed on Dec. 4,2019, and claims benefit to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2018 131000.5, filed on Dec. 5, 2018. The International Application waspublished in German on Jun. 11, 2020 as WO 2020/115121 A1 under PCTArticle 21(2).

FIELD

The invention relates to an optical position determination andidentification system, in particular for use on-board commercialaircraft.

BACKGROUND

For various applications, it is desirable to be able to determine therelative position on-board an aircraft and/or uniquely identify objects,for example aircraft seats, located in the vicinity of this position. Inorder to detect damage on precisely these objects, for example, it isnecessary to identify the objects uniquely. For other damage in theaircraft cabin (for example on the floor) maximally accurate detectionof the location of the damage is necessary in order to be able to planrepair measures as accurately as possible in advance, so that the timerequired for the actual repair can be kept as short as possible.

Also envisageable are augmented reality applications (AR applications)for passengers on-board, in which images displayed on a mobile terminalare supplemented with additional computer-generated information orvirtual objects. So that this additional information can be visuallyinserted correctly, accurate position and orientation determination ofthe mobile terminal is necessary.

For the unique identification of objects, it is known to provide themwith a computer-readable label comprising a unique identification code.In order to keep the requirements of readers for reading theidentification code low, barcodes and/or QR codes, which can be readoptically, are also often employed. In order not to interfere with thevisual appearance of the aircraft cabin, however, the computer-readablelabels are regularly arranged at somewhat concealed locations on theobjects, which may make reading them difficult.

Optical position determination extending beyond this on-board anaircraft is currently not possible, or at least not reliably possible.Although objects inside the aircraft cabin, for example a passengerseat, can in principle be detected by means of so-called edge-basedmodel tracking, in which object edges in a camera image are determinedand compared with computer models of the relevant objects, and therelative position of the camera in relation to the acquired object canalso be determined, actual position determination inside the cabin, orunique allocation of relevant objects, is not however reliably possiblebecause of the multiplicity of objects with the same shape—for examplepassenger seats—inside an aircraft cabin.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present disclosure provides an optical positiondetermination and identification system that is for environments havinga multiplicity of identically constructed objects. The system includes:a mobile image acquisition unit; and texture elements that areconfigured to be applied onto the objects. Each of the texture elementshas a pattern that respectively comprises pseudorandom deviations from apredetermined basic pattern, which are not visible with the naked eye ata distance of 1 m. The image acquisition unit is configured to identifythe texture elements uniquely with the aid of their pseudorandomdeviations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Subject matter of the present disclosure will be described in evengreater detail below based on the exemplary figures. All featuresdescribed and/or illustrated herein can be used alone or combined indifferent combinations. The features and advantages of variousembodiments will become apparent by reading the following detaileddescription with reference to the attached drawings, which illustratethe following:

FIG. 1: shows an exemplary embodiment of an arrangement according to theinvention; and

FIG. 2: shows examples of the multiply repeating patterns of the textureelements of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide an improved opticalposition determination and identification system.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to an optical positiondetermination and identification system in environments having amultiplicity of identically constructed objects, comprising a mobileimage acquisition unit and texture elements that can be applied onto theobjects. Each texture element has a pattern that respectively comprisespseudorandom deviations from a predetermined basic pattern, which arenot visible with the naked eye at a distance of 1 m. The imageacquisition unit is configured to identify the texture elements uniquelywith the aid of their pseudorandom deviations.

The present inventors have discovered that, for position determinationand identification in environments having a multiplicity of objects withthe same shape, unique identification of the individual objects that iseasy to carry out is advantageous and, in particular, essential foroptical position determination with the aid of the optically detectedobjects. In order in this case to avoid the objects having to beprovided (possibly multiply) with known optically readable labels suchas barcodes or QR codes in readily visible regions that are necessaryfor problem-free identification, which is regularly detrimental for thedesign and ambience in the aircraft cabin, according to the inventiontexture elements are provided for identification purposes.

Each texture element has a pattern. The pattern may preferably be amultiply repeating pattern, so that the texture elements may beconfigured to be arbitrarily large. Consequently, they are particularlyhighly suitable as means of surface configuration for the objects andmay regularly be incorporated well into the design of the aircraft cabinwithout their being perceived as distracting by passengers, as would bethe case for example with directly visible QR codes. The same appliesfor the case in which the texture elements comprise individual imageelements that do not repeat. The image elements may have almost anydesired complexity and range from nonrepeating patterns to photographicimage elements. Such texture elements—other than for example QRcodes—are regularly not perceived as distracting by passengers.

In order, nevertheless, to allow identification, the patterns of thetexture elements respectively have a uniquely identifiable pseudorandomdeviation from a predetermined basic pattern, which are not visible withthe naked eye at a distance of 1 m. “With the naked eye” meansobservations of the texture elements by the human eye, during which nooptical aids are used. By arranging for nondetectability of thepseudorandom deviations of the patterns of the texture elements with thenaked eye at a distance of 1 m between the texture elements and theobserver, the texture elements appear fundamentally identical for anycasual observers. The deviations of the patterns are, however,sufficient for the pseudorandom deviations to be recognizable by anoptical image acquisition unit, for example cameras, which have asufficiently high resolving power, in particular surpassing that of thehuman eye.

A corresponding pseudorandom deviation from a basic pattern is asystematic and uniquely identifiable modification of the basic pattern.The deviations from the basic pattern must in this case—as explained—besignificant enough that they can be detected and established by theimage acquisition unit. In particular, the deviations must thus, forexample, also be determinable in the acquired images with the availableresolution of the image acquisition unit, in which case a maximumdistance between the texture element and the image acquisition unit, upto which the determination of the deviations from the basic pattern isintended to be possible, may of course be specified. In general, thedeviations from the basic pattern may be made so small that they are notdirectly conspicuous in the case of conventional naked-eye observationsof the pattern of a texture element by a passenger, even in comparisonwith neighboring texture elements, but can be recognized only—if atall—with closer observation by a person. The subjective resolving powerof human vision may be reduced by a high complexity of the pattern, sothat the deviations from the basic pattern may optionally be greater andtherefore more easily identifiable for the image acquisition unit.

For example, the basic pattern may consist of a randomly actingarrangement of geometrical figures or graphics, for example companylogos, in different colors and sizes. By systematic modification of theposition or size of individual pattern components in the basic pattern,and therefore, the provision of pseudorandom deviations, it is possibleto provide uniquely identifiable patterns for the texture elements,which can be detected by the image acquisition unit but almost cannot beidentified with the naked eye. With a suitable resolution and/or colordepth of the image acquisition unit, line thicknesses or hues may alsobe modified in order to provide deviations in relation to the basicpattern.

It is possible for all the patterns of the texture elements to be basedon the same basic pattern. It is, however, also possible for some ofthem to be based on one basic pattern while others have anotherunderlying basic pattern. In particular, texture elements provided fordifferent types of objects may be based on different basic patterns. Forexample, texture elements for passenger seats may be configureddifferently than texture elements for wall panels.

The image acquisition unit according to the invention is configured toanalyze the patterns of the texture elements on an image acquired by theimage acquisition unit and to uniquely identify them with the aid of thepseudorandom deviations thereby established. To this end, the basicpattern on which the analyzed pattern of the texture element is basedmay be stored in the image acquisition unit so that the deviations canbe determined by comparing the acquired pattern with the basic pattern.As an alternative, the image acquisition unit may be configured toderive a unique identification from the pattern itself. This is possiblefor example by determining characteristic average values from theacquired pattern, for example the average distance between theindividual pattern components or the average size of the individualpattern components, and subsequently determining the deviations fromthese average values, from which the unique identification is thenobtained.

In particular when the maximum distance between a texture element andthe image acquisition unit, up to which unique identification of thepattern of the texture element is possible, is selected to be small, asufficient position determination is possibly already ensured by actualidentification of the pattern of a texture element by the imageacquisition unit. This is because it is already possible to derive fromthe described identification already that the image acquisition unitmust be located in the (immediate) vicinity of the texture element andtherefore the object provided with it.

Preferably, a database connected to the image acquisition unit,containing the allocation of the texture elements to individual objectsonto which the texture elements are applied, is provided, the imageacquisition unit preferably being configured to determine the relativeposition of the image acquisition unit in relation to the identifiedobjects by edge-based model tracking of the objects identified uniquelyby means of the texture elements and the database. By a correspondingdetermination of the object that is provided with the identified textureelement, the precise relative position of the image acquisition unit inrelation to the object may be determined by edge-based model trackingwith the aid of a computer model corresponding to the object. This isadvantageous in particular for augmented reality applications.

If position data of the individual objects are furthermore stored in thedatabase, the image acquisition unit may be configured to determine theabsolute position of the image acquisition unit in the coordinate systemof the position data stored in the database. By the above-describeddetermination of the relative position of the image acquisition unit inrelation to an identified object, with knowledge of the position of theobject it is also possible to determine the absolute position of theimage acquisition unit. In this case, the coordinate system in which theposition data of the objects are stored in the database is willgenerally need to be employed.

The texture elements may be configured in almost any desired way. Forinstance, it is possible for at least some of the texture elements to beadhesive films, coatings and/or object covers, which in each case have apattern, as described. It is also possible for at least some of thetexture elements to be formed integrally with respectively one object,preferably by printing and/or stitching. In this case, the printed orstitched surface of the object is to be regarded as a texture element.

It is preferred for the above-described database to be centrally storedand for the image acquisition unit to have access to the database bymeans of a wireless connection. By the provision of a central database,simultaneous access of a plurality of image acquisition units to thedatabase is possible. In order to avoid constant data exchange via thewireless connection, it is also possible for the image acquisition unitto maintain an image of the centrally stored database and to update theimage only in the event of modifications in the database. As analternative, it is also possible—if the image acquisition unit does nothave sufficient computation capacity—for the image acquired by the imageacquisition unit to be sent wirelessly to the central database. Theidentification of the texture elements and optionally further steps maythen be carried out by the central database before the result is thentransmitted back to the image acquisition unit.

It is preferred for the basic pattern to have a chaotic nature. “Chaoticnature” means that no regularity or at least no apparently functionalregularity in the arrangement of the individual pattern components canbe identified when observing the basic pattern. In the case of acorresponding pattern, pseudorandom deviations stand out even moreclearly.

The system according to the invention is suitable, in particular, forposition determination and/or object identification on-board aircraft.

The invention consequently also relates to an arrangement consisting ofa commercial aircraft having a multiplicity of objects arranged in thepassenger cabin and an optical position determination and identificationsystem according to the invention as claimed in one of the precedingclaims, wherein the objects is respectively provided with at least onetexture element.

The objects may preferably be aircraft seats and/or wall panels.

If the position determination and identification system comprises adatabase, the latter is preferably stored on a server on-board theaircraft. This offers the advantage that the data of the database are,for example, available for a position determination even when theaircraft is in the air and there is not a sufficient data connection toa server located on the ground.

The system may also be used to monitor the state of the cabin of anaircraft by means of cameras. Instead of sensors that monitor individualcomponents of the cabin in respect of whether for example a particulartable is folded up, a corresponding component may for example have twodifferent texture elements, only one or at least one of which cannot beseen respectively in one operating state. By virtue of the fact thatonly visible texture elements can be identified according to theinvention, the status of the component in question may be deduced bymeans of the texture elements identified. It is, for example, possiblethat an autonomous drone, which preferably navigates independently withthe aid of the position determinable according to the invention,correspondingly inspects the state of the components of the cabin of anaircraft.

FIG. 1 represents an arrangement 1 according to an embodiment of theinvention. In this case, a multiplicity of passenger seats 4—alsoreferred to as objects 4—are arranged in the passenger cabin 2. On eachof the passenger seats 4, a head pad 6, which is provided with amultiply repeating pattern 7, is provided in the upper region of thebackrest 5. The head pads 6 in this case represent texture elements 8according to the invention, the patterns 7 of the individual textureelements 8 respectively representing pseudorandom deviations from abasic pattern 9.

This will be explained in more detail with the aid of FIG. 2, in whichan exemplary basic pattern 9 (FIG. 2a ) and two pseudorandom deviationstherefrom (FIGS. 2b and 2c ) are represented.

The basic pattern 9 is represented on an enlarged scale on the left-handside of FIG. 2a , while on the right-hand side this basic pattern 9 isrepresented multiply repeated as a two-dimensional texture as is foundin principle as a pattern 7 on the texture elements 8.

FIG. 2b represents a first pseudorandom deviation 10 from the basicpattern 9 according to FIG. 2a , again both in an enlarged form (left)and as a two-dimensional texture. In this example, one patterncomponent—the circle marked with the reference 11—is shifted slightlyupward in relation to the basic pattern 9.

In the second pseudorandom deviation 10 according to FIG. 2c , besidesthe pattern component 11 shifted upward in a similar way to the firstpseudorandom deviation 10, the pattern component provided with thereference 12—likewise a circle—is shifted slightly toward the right.

As may be seen in particular with the aid of the texture representationsin FIGS. 2a-c , the deviations 10 in the individual patterns 7 arescarcely visible. Consequently, the difference in the patterns 7 of theindividual texture elements 8 will regularly not be conspicuous to anobserver who is on-board the commercial aircraft in the passenger cabin2. The deviations in the individual patterns 7 are, however, sufficientthat they can be detected by an image acquisition unit 12 (cf. FIG. 1)and used for the unique identification.

The image acquisition unit 12 represented in FIG. 1 is a so-calledtablet PC, on one side of which a large-area touch-sensitive screen 13is provided, while a digital camera module is arranged on the otherside. The image acquired by the digital camera module is processed bythe image acquisition unit 12 before it is represented on the screen 13in a form supplemented with additional information.

The image acquisition unit 12 is configured, at least for those textureelements 8 that are sufficiently close to the digital camera module thatthe deviations contained there from the basic pattern 9 are actuallyimaged in the acquired image and with the resolution of the digitalcamera module, to uniquely identify the respective deviation andtherefore the texture element 8 itself. To this end, it is possible touse known image processing methods, which can access on demand the basicpattern 9 stored in a database 14 located on a server located on-boardthe aircraft. The image acquisition unit 12 and the server with thedatabase 14 are to this end connected to one another wirelessly.

An allocation of texture elements 8 to the respective objects 4, in thiscase the individual aircraft seats 4, is furthermore contained in thedatabase 14, additional information relating to the position of theindividual objects 4 inside the aircraft cabin 2 as well as computermodels of the individual objects 4 also being stored in the database 14in addition to the direct allocation.

By the direct allocation of the identified texture elements 8 to theindividual objects 4, the latter may likewise be identified uniquely.With the aid of the computer model respectively linked with theidentified object 4, by means of edge-based model tracking it ispossible to determine the relative position of the image acquisitionunit 12 in relation to the identified object 4. Since the position ofthe identified object 4 inside the aircraft cabin 2 is furthermoreknown, it is possible to determine the absolute position of the imageacquisition unit 12 in the aircraft cabin 2.

On the basis of the position, uniquely determined in this way, of theimage acquisition unit 12, the image acquired by the by the digitalcamera module is supplemented with additional information before displayon the screen 13. In the exemplary embodiment represented, one of thepassenger seats 4 is in this case colored-in and information relating todamage of this particular seat is additionally overlaid.

While subject matter of the present disclosure has been illustrated anddescribed in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, suchillustration and description are to be considered illustrative orexemplary and not restrictive. Any statement made herein characterizingthe invention is also to be considered illustrative or exemplary and notrestrictive as the invention is defined by the claims. It will beunderstood that changes and modifications may be made, by those ofordinary skill in the art, within the scope of the following claims,which may include any combination of features from different embodimentsdescribed above.

The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadestreasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. Forexample, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an elementshould not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements.Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as beinginclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “Aand B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing descriptionthat only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “atleast one of A, B and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a groupof elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted asrequiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C,regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise.Moreover, the recitation of “A, B and/or C” or “at least one of A, B orC” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from thelisted elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., Aand B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C.

1. An optical position determination and identification system forenvironments having a multiplicity of identically constructed objects,the system comprising: a mobile image acquisition unit; and textureelements that are configured to be applied onto the objects, whereineach of the texture elements has a pattern that respectively comprisespseudorandom deviations from a predetermined basic pattern, which arenot visible with the naked eye at a distance of 1 m, and wherein theimage acquisition unit is configured to identify the texture elementsuniquely with the aid of their pseudorandom deviations.
 2. The system asclaimed in claim 1, the system comprising: a database connected to theimage acquisition unit, containing information on an allocation of eachof the texture elements respectively to individual objects onto whichthe texture elements are applied, wherein the image acquisition unit isconfigured to determine a relative position of the image acquisitionunit in relation to the identified objects by edge-based model trackingof the objects identified uniquely by the texture elements and thedatabase.
 3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the databasecontains position data of the individual objects, and the imageacquisition unit is configured to determine an absolute position of theimage acquisition unit in a coordinate system of the position datastored in the database.
 4. The system as claimed in claim 1, whereineach of the texture elements has a respective multiply repeating patternbased on the basic pattern, each pattern repetition of each of thetexture elements having a same pseudorandom deviation from the basicpattern.
 5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some ofthe texture elements are adhesive films, coatings, or object covers. 6.The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of the textureelements are formed integrally with respectively one object, preferablyby printing and/or stitching.
 7. The system as claimed in claim 2,wherein the database is centrally stored, and the image acquisition unithas access to the database by means of a wireless connection.
 8. Thesystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the basic pattern has a chaoticnature.
 9. An arrangement comprising of a commercial aircraft having amultiplicity of objects arranged in a passenger cabin and the opticalposition determination and identification system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the objects are each respectively provided with at least onetexture element.
 10. The arrangement as claimed in claim 9, wherein theobjects are aircraft seats or wall panels.
 11. The arrangement asclaimed in claim 9, wherein a database of the position determination andidentification system is stored on a server on-board the commercialaircraft.